Russell Crowe in his new movie “State of Play” is as pitch perfect as it gets in his depiction of the good old-fashioned journalist.

It was both nostalgic and sentimental for this old reporter. Like an old cowboy looking at a Western.

As Cal McAffrey, ink-stained wretch, Crowe uses the back seat of his aging Saab as a combination trash-can/file cabinet. He drives while listening to loud Irish music, so he has a touch of the ethnic journalist in him. He likes his car so much, his apartment décor resembles his car. Outward appearances be damned, McCaffrey considers fashion an affront to the truth, which of course, is all he cares about, no matter how painful it is.

The movie centers around a basic dilemma for journalists: Who’s a friend? Who’s a source? Who can you sleep with?

And the truth is found the old fashioned way. No guns.(Only the bad guys have those).  No superhuman powers. McAffrey Crowe just asks questions; of editors, sources, colleagues, himself.  In the end, what’s left are just the facts. No opinion. No blogs. Continue reading State of play: My analog weekend with Russell Crowe, Asparagus and the Tubes →